A parallel network for visual cognition.

The authors describe a parallel dynamical system designed to integrate model-based and data-driven approaches to image recognition in a neural network, and study one component of the system in detail. That component is the translation-invariant network of probabilistic cellular automata (PCA), which combines feature-detector outputs and collectively performs enhancement and recognition functions. Recognition is a novel application of the PCA. Given a model of the target object, conditions on the PCA weights are obtained which must be satisfied for object enhancement and noise rejection to occur, and engineered weights are constructed. For further refinement of the weights, a training algorithm derived from optimal control theory is proposed. System operation is illustrated with examples derived from visual, infrared, and laser-radar imagery.